


Celestial Influence X- Day of Darkness

by Aweebwrites



Series: Celestial Influence [10]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Arguing, Background Character Death, Dragons, Fear, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mild Blood, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Quests, Supernatural Elements, Team as Family, Trials, not the show, tagging is hard ngl, they do p risky things, uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22046182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aweebwrites/pseuds/Aweebwrites
Summary: Half the original ninja down and half more to go. The trials only get harder and harder. Friendships will be tested and Ninjago's very existence is at stake. Will the end of this journey make the new ninja team?...Or break them?
Series: Celestial Influence [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1389766
Comments: 12
Kudos: 34





	Celestial Influence X- Day of Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Holy heck I managed to finish this before the new year yasss! As you can see this fic is a very, very big boi. So like, I've run through this but I'm also blind so there might be lots of spelling and grammar errors. None the less! I wanna thank @lucariosfish for helping me figure a lot of stuff out and for being a v supportive friend! I hope you all like it!

Sailing on the Bounty towards the sea was a serene thing. The sea only served to become more and more vast the closer they got, the sun glimmering against it, free of the overhanging, gloomy and downright malicious dark purple clouds hanging over all of Ninjago. Kai had told them that removing the clouds would warn the Overlord that they were coming. Not that whatever preparations the Overlord could pull would stop them from defeating him. No, it was that the Overlord was an entity that rarely played fair. No doubt he’d spread his minions all over Ninjago to increase the death rate massively in retaliation. But it didn’t bother them too much. Not with the warmth Kai radiated keeping the declining temperatures from the sun being blocked at bay. Despite the fact that they were at the verge of an apocalypse, they all felt oddly calm and content.

Well.

All but Brad.

Standing at the back of the Bounty, away from the view of the sea, he was trying not to panic.  _ The sea _ . Of all places, she chose the sea. Of course she would. God of water and all. But Brad hadn’t been prepared. It was foolish but he hadn’t expected this. Images from years ago flashed before his mind. Standing on the docks at the city’s edge, seeing the massive wall of water being held back by a mostly transparent barrier, seeing the monsters the sea held staring him down. Leviathans, Starteeth, sharks and more. All in this utterly massive, looming wall of sea. Brad had never felt such fear before in his life. Not even when Borg tower had turned evil and was trying to kill him. There was just something so formidable about such a massive body of water. So invincible. It felt as if he were drowning, just by standing in its presence. And the knowledge that the ninja were the cause of it, were the source… He remembered vividly the feeling of utter helplessness, of hopelessness… He remembered thinking this was how he would die. It didn’t register that the waters had receded, not until some fisherman had called out to him. He may have been spared that day but the fear had never left him. He hadn’t gone near large water sources since. And now… Now… His entire body shook as he struggled to keep his breath steady, to keep quiet.

“Brad.” He jolts then whipped his head to the side, seeing Mr. Cole- er.

Just Cole there, a concerned look on his face.

“Whadoyah want.” Brad huffed as he turned away, putting on his tough front.

“Nya would never do that again you know. At least, not without warning and reason.” Cole told him softly and Brad was surprised but then frowned, realising that the ninja he once knew was a god.

Of course he could read his thoughts.

“What’s in my head is none of your business.” Brad got out, another bout of fear choking off his voice, remembering also this person before him ripped Ninjago to pieces.

“You’re right.” Cole nods then offered him a small smile. “That’s why I’ve left your mind be. The panic and fear I felt from you the closer we got to the ocean gave me a pretty good guess of what’s going on with you.” He told him then raised a hand to Brad.

The ninja couldn’t help but flinch out of instinct, eyes squeezed shut. He only blinked them open when Cole’s hand rested rather lightly on his shoulder. He looked up at him surprised then felt a wave of guilt at the sad look in those softly glowing green and yellow-orange eyes.

“While we can’t change the past, we can change the future. Our control is absolute as is our resolve to not let a recurrence happen. You can’t trust our word but you don’t need to.” Cole says lightly, lifting his hand off of Brad’s shoulder to lean against the railing there, looking back at the gloomy land of Ninjago. “As long as the six of us have each other and ourselves… We’ll do our part… We’ll be fine.” He whispered quietly to himself, wind ruffling his shoulder length hair.

Brad only stared at the wistful expression he wore. He then looked down, realizing he felt… At ease. What kind of magic was this? He felt… Grounded. The fear hasn’t left but he felt much calmer in its presence. Brad chewed at his thumb in contemplation but before he could reach any conclusions, the ship began to descend.

“This is it. The Spirit Coves.” Gene says up front, terrified of what they’d have to face to pass her test.

He wants to say he hopes his time never comes but statistics show that a happening like that is unlikely. One by one his friends are being chosen for their tests, needing to prove something to them. He didn’t witness the tests but it’s changed all three of them. It’s subtle but he’s seen it. He stepped back from the wheel then looked back to where Jake was smiling widely at whatever Kai was telling him, Sally who was talking with Nelson as they headed towards the rope ladder to get out and Antonia who was quietly and quickly descending the ladder. What did they see? What did they do? What decisions did they make? And more importantly… What does this all mean for him?

“Bad news.” Antonia says as everyone unboarded the ship, standing on the shore.

“High tide. Of course.” Gene sighed, walking over to the shore, noting most of the cove was underwater. “What now? No doubt the whole caving system is filled to the brim with water and even if there are air pockets, how far do we have to swim to reach it? Is there enough air to sustain us all? Or at the very least, us?” He questioned, gesturing to the rest of his team as all three gods walked up.

“High tide huh.” Kai says, looking down at the sea waves lapping at the shore then looking up at the sky, seeing the full moon barely visible over the brightness of day.

Kai grinned then turned to Zane who huffed in amusement, knowing what Kai had in mind.

“Alright though I’ll have to do it slowly. Too quickly and I’ll trigger a gravitational Tsunami.” Zane told both he and Cole, confusing the group of ninja.

Zane closed his eyes, releasing a frigid, foggy breath before opening brightly glowing blue eyes that faded into white, lifting himself even higher off the ground. He lifted a glowing hand to the sky, the group turning to where his hand was, gasping at the bright glow of his powers that enveloped the moon. They watched, speechless as he began to move the moon, slowly but still visibly. The sea followed, drawing away from the shore to the horizon as the moon slowly dipped below it. The ninja stood there, trying to process that they just witnessed the moon being lowered unnaturally. Kai headed down to the entrance to Nya’s lair to dry things out- only to pause. He then grinned widely, laughter bubbling up in his chest and spilling out past his lips. The Ninja weren’t feeling very confident with the fire god’s laughter but they along with his fellow gods headed down to see what was just so hilarious. Nelson blinked wide eyed at the sight before them, at the passage ahead, still completely filled with water, the entry’s surface gently rippling as if it were a portal to an underwater world. It might as well be.

“What’s the plan now?” Sally asked, turning to the three gods who were just as amused as Kai was at this situation. “We won’t last long in there.” She reminds them and they all paused once a low growl sounded.

“... And by the sound of that, we have company waiting inside.” She added.

Kai grinned.

“Knowing my sister, it’s hard to tell what the next step is. She likes to be at the top of her game. Adaption, innovation, that’s her thing. For all we may know, that water might not even be real.” Kai shrugged and the ninja looked at them baffled.

_ “What?!” _ Gene sputtered, not sure if he should be angry or relieved.

Jake walked up to the wall of water then reached a hand out.

“It’s wet like water but solid as a rock.” Jake spoke up and they all looked over at him surprised.

“Really?” Antonia asked as she walked over, pressing her hand against it too. “On you’re right.” She says, surprised.

“Looks like we can’t even get in now.” Nelson says as he rested his hand against it too, rivulets of water soaking the sleeve of his gi. “I don’t get it. What’s the point of us not getting in? Can we really solve her test from here? Was sending away the tide the wrong choice?” He asked, turning to the three gods.

“Your tests were hard and confusing but not like this.” Nelson said with a frown, dropping his hand.

All three of them paused to consider.

“Maybe the water is solid to you because you're not the one meant to pass through.” Cole suggested and the group frowned.

“If that’s the case then Gene, Brad and I have to try.” Sally spoke up, walking over to the entrance. “Though I doubt it’ll be me.” She added then proved her statement true by putting her hand against it.

“I doubt it’ll be me either, so I shouldn’t even try.” Gene says, crossing his arms and they all looked at him unimpressed.

“Gene there isn’t any time for this. Did you forget already why we’re doing this to begin with? All of Ninjago is at stake and we should do our part. Even if it means a scary test.” Nelson told him and Gene frowned, shifting side to side nervously.

He knew, really he did. He sighed then straightened his back. He’d rather die trying than die without trying and have a mountain of regret.

“Fine.” Gene says then walked forward to the entrance.

“That’s the spirit.” Nelson grinned.

Gene gave him a nervous look before taking a deep breath and reaching a hand out. Warm. The water was warm, even as it trickled down his hand. But it was as unmoving as stone beneath his palm.

“Anything?” Jake asked him and gene shook his head then pulled his hand back.

“Then all who’s left is-” Antonia cut herself off, noticing that Brad wasn’t standing with them.

She looked up further on the beach and spotting him standing quite the distance away, staring at the water with haunted eyes.

“Brad?” Sally says as she headed back up the rocky slopes to where he was standing by himself, the other members of the team following. “You al-”

“Fine.” Brad growled irritably, sticking his chin out stubbornly.

“Then let’s go. We need you to check the water wall.” Gene says, gesturing to where the entrance was.

Brad looked to where the three gods were standing, waiting on them and swallowed thickly. The others were giving him strange looks. He took a deep breath. He was a Tudabone dammit. A line of evil, fearless people. Something as weak and spineless as water shouldn't get to him like this! With that, he forced his legs to move, his breathing picking up as he began moving closer to that vast, near endless body of water.

_ ‘You can do this. Water’s got nothing on you! It’s not like you’re going inside anyway!’  _ He encouraged himself as he made the walk to the shoreline.

He was quick to turn away from the sea once he got to the entrance but his eyes went wide just looking at the wall of water blocking the entrance, calmly rippling as a low, almost growl echoed from the inside. Brad stood there with wide eyes, his breathing picking up even more as the colour drained from his face. All over again, he was standing on the docks with that massive wave before him, waiting to pull him in, to drown him so the monsters it held could devour his body. Yet again, he was facing certain death.

“Brad-” Antonia was cut off by Zane holding her back, sharp glowing blue eyes warning her, warning them not to interfere.

Antonia gritted her teeth, not liking this at all but what choice did she have? Brad was clearly having a panic attack but just one of them could take them on and level them all in under a second. This wasn’t like any test they’ve ever taken. This couldn’t be. Brad was terrified. She could see it. It was as if he was staring down something greater than his greatest fear. He was standing there, frozen in utter terror.

“Don’t worry Toni.” Nelson spoke up and she glanced across at him where he stood confidently, a smile on his face. “Brad’ll be fine.” He says and a bolt of raw anger, of fury passed through, looking at his smiling face.

How could he just stand there and see how Brad was suffering and smile?! His love of the ninja were clearly blinding him from the fact that these ninja, these ‘gods’, these- these- vengeful entities aren’t as good as he’s made them out to be! Similar thoughts passed through the others’ heads. Gene had always had doubt. Nelson wasn’t the best choice as their leader. He was too impulsive, too faithful in the ninja. He trusts them so blindly. He doesn't even show a drop of worry in distressing situations like this. These 'tests' only get harder and harder. Their lives are at risk every step of the way. Gene fears they'd push one of them to death, and if that time comes, no doubt Nelson will remain dedicated to their cause. Sally knew they agreed to not complain about these tests but it wasn’t easy to just stand back and watch as Brad stood there with eradicated breathing, barely able to grasp his next breath. If this goes on for much longer, he’ll collapse from lightheadedness. She tightened her fists. Why was this necessary? Why did they have to suffer for Ninjago’s sake? Yes, she understood the lives at risk but their goal seems to be to break and remake them. Brad was clearly broken as is. How much more can he take? How much more will Nelson allow him to take?

Jake watched anxiously, not liking this situation at all. It was all he could do to keep his legs planted in place else he would have long darted to Brad’s side. Sure he was sometimes really mean but he was a brother, a ninja. He didn’t like seeing him like this at all. He looked across at Nelson as he watched, smile still planted on his face. He’d stop this soon… Right? He wouldn’t let them hurt Brad anymore… Right? Jake… Wasn’t too sure anymore. He looked back to Brad who was staring ahead with wide eyes, face washed in cold sweat as he breathed with a lot of difficulty. His body was really shaking now. Brad...

Brad stared, immobilized by raw fear as glowing blue eyes stared back at him, belonging to no human, surely belonging to… To… He tensed further, rigid as stone as tentacles slipped out of the surface of the water. He wanted to run to scream at the others for help, anything to get him out of this situation, but he couldn’t so much as draw a breath in. One by one, they slithered out like slimy, cold snakes, holding onto one of each limb as he just stood there, trapped inside his own petrified body, watching this all unfold helplessly. Suddenly, he was yanked forward, towards the water. The moment he touched the water’s surface was the moment he blacked out.

Floating… He was floating… His body feeling loose and relaxed. Brad opened his eyes slowly, looking up towards the water’s surface as it reflected rippling sunlight down at him. It was oddly beautiful… It dawned on him then, eyes widening as he immediately began flailing, trying to reach the water’s surface as his lungs began to burn. But the more he fought the water, the deeper he sunk. He couldn’t…. Hold his breath… Anymore! He breathed the water in as his movements slowed then stopped. He stared up at the water’s surface again, getting farther and farther away, He… He was going to die like this, wasn’t he? A low rumble caught his ears and a tentacle passed by his blurry vision. No. He was going to be eaten… He didn’t want this. He just wanted to help, that’s all… The dim light from the surface was blocked out by a massive shadow and Brad found himself staring up into glowing blue eyes, the creature’s short mouth right before him, half opened and filled with sharp rows of teeth, the interior of its mouth glowing the same colour of its mouth. He looked numbly in the mouth of his certain demise… But nothing happened.

It wasn’t attacking. Why? Was he not up to its standards? He frowned once it nudged him. What? Did it want to play around with his body first before eating him? Some animals are known to do that… It made a low rumbling sound that Brad felt all throw his limp body. He frowned as he realized something. Shouldn’t he be dead by now? His eyes widened. Was he actually breathing? Water? Impossible. But he could feel the rise and fall of his own chest. He moved his hand to place it there and yeah, he could feel his own heart beating. He… Wasn’t dead… But he was so deep underwater… This didn’t make sense… The creature before him gave a higher rumble under the water, a high squeak reaching his ears before it turned away. Brad stared wide eyed at it’s massive body with gills and fins glowing like its mouth and eyes. Most of all was the fact that it had tentacles for its tail, the suckers glowing too. Was this… Some kind of Leviathan hybrid? Was it leaving him here? Did he even want to follow? He frowned, remembering that this was supposed to be some kind of moral test. He hesitated then swam after the large creature, narrowly avoiding getting hit with a tentacle. How soon can this test be over? He’s under water, swimming next to a creature 5 times worse than a Leviathan with all kinds of unknown creatures around him he’s sure. Just that was enough to bring his anxiety back. Before he could spiral, something shot by him. He blinked, wide eyed and alarmed at the white figure that circled back at him. Was that… It stopped before him, bumping his chest before swimming off again. That was a dolphin! Just like that, life exploded around him. Colourful fish swum in groups, near equally colourful coral that all but glowed with the light from the significantly closer water’s surface. It was… Amazing! He’s never seen anything like this before! He laughed as a dolphin swum around him quickly, twirling him in a small vortex. He reached out to touch it, aweing at its smooth skin. Amazing… He blinked once it perked up then swam off along with several of the fish there. What’s-

His eyes widened once he saw a shark swim into the reef and turned away to swim off too but his limbs failed him. He couldn’t swim as fast as he had liked. He watched terrified as the shark got closer and closer to him before charging. He flinched, hiding his face- but no pain came. He peered his eyes open and blinked once he saw the shark swimming off, the tail of a colourful fish falling from its mouth. That was terrifying. Brad watched confused as the other fish came back once the shark left. They would really come back while there was one of those guys hunting here? These fish were braver than he. But… Looking at them all, as they swam around without a care, the dolphins who also eat them interacting with a few along their way over to him. He smiled as he rubbed the tops of their head. The sea, water over all was a really scary thing. He knows that first hand. His fear of the sea and large bodies of water will never really go away if the never leaving anxiety he felt even now was enough of a clue. But… This is the water’s nature, right? To be both beautiful and terrifying. He felt, more than heard the strange Leviathan’s low rumble and he turned around to see it there, looking at him.

Before his anxiety could set in anew, the sudden darkening of the space around him caught his attention. He looked around realizing that he was no longer where the reef was, and that he was in fact, standing in a large bubble of air, water all around him. He looked back to the creature but it wasn’t looking at him, rather down. He looked down too then gasped in awe at the sight of the statue made out of what seems to be… Sea glass. A rich blue coloured one. That’s… That’s Nya, isn’t it? His eyes widened once it started to glow and crack open from her chest outwards. He just stood there, watching as the sea glass fell away from her, around the platform she laid, vanishing moments after as if it were never there to begin with. Soon, all the pieces were gone and she just laid there. Brad fiddled with his hands. Was- was he supposed to do somethi- Her eyes opened suddenly, glowing brightly for a moment before the glow faded. She sat up slowly, stretching a bit before she glanced across at where Brad stood awkwardly and offered him a smirk of a smile.

Outside the cave entrance, the three gods humbly accepted the scrutiny of the new ninja, their explanations of Brad’s ability to breathe and his well being physically not appeasing his 4 teammates.

“Mental health is just as important as physical health. So important, that it can affect one’s physical health.” Gene pointed out as Antonia tried to get through the water barrier again.

“Look, Gene and I know Brad the longest. We’ve been hanging out since Darkly’s and ever since that tsunami that almost swallowed the city 7 years ago, he can’t even so much as drive near the sea without a negative reaction. We’ve kept quiet because he hates to have it brought up but this is pushing things too far. You have to bring him out before who knows what happens!” Sally insists, trying not to become disrespectful and get smited or something.

“He’s been in there a while though…” Jake says anxiously, more than a little worried.

“Guys, come on.” Nelson says in their defense, standing between the silent gods and his teammates. “I know it must be scary for Brad but they wouldn’t let anything happen to him. You just have to trust them.” Nelson reasoned.

“Tru-” Gene bit back the retort, casting a wary look to the earth fire and ice gods before clearing his throat. “It’s not that simple, Nelson.” He stressed.

Before anything else could be said, Kai’s closed eyes widened, his red orange eyes glowing.

“She’s awake.” He whispered and all three of them walked over to the entrance, leaving glass, ice and deep footsteps behind them.

Antonia stepped back as they approached- which was the right thing to do, since the wall of water began to bulge. Suddenly, the water rushed out- but not into the sea. No, rather into the air, a large creature of sorts flowing out with it, the size of it putting both the dragons and Zane’s falcon to shame.

“Nya!” Kai yelled as he rushed forward to his sister as she walked out wearing a deep blue, sleeveless dress that was close to her neck, the skirt end just below her knees and billowing with the wind off the sea.

On her feet, she wore silver sandals and wrapped around both her arms once and floating over head was a stream of clear, ever flowing water. She perked up at the sight of her brother then ran out to meet him halfway, both of them crushing the other into a hug, not minding the light steam that started up with their immediate contact.

“Kai! It’s good to see you! Still keeping up with the dragon king theme I see.” She teased lightly at his outfit and Kai huffed at her in good humour.

“Brad!” Sally yelled once he walked out behind her.

Before he could comprehend it, he was tackled into a hug by all 5 of his friends, the suddenness of it all making them all topple over into a laughing pile. Nya and Kai looked down at them fondly as Zane and Cole joined them.

“No time for sticking around. We have a situation as you can tell.” Cole told her and Nya nods, able to tell the state Ninjago was in.

“You’d think he’d learn his lesson and never show his ugly mug again.” Nya says with a frown as she looked towards the sky where slowly extending clouds of darkness hung.

“We’re going to try and find Jay next but like last time, we have no idea where he is.” Zane told her and Nya huffed, expecting that.

“We should be able to whip something up to help find him. For now…” She says then turned to the orb of water in the sky that held her companion Leviathan. “Olivia.” She called, bringing the orb closer and the three male gods looked at each with arched brows, Kai mouthing ‘Olivia’ of all the names she could have chosen.

“I need you to help Ninjago against the Overlord. You and the others keep him in the city, alright? We’ll be there soon.” She told the leviathan, reaching her hands in through the water to rub at its maw, a low rumbling echoing as she did.

She then sent the large pool of water over to the sea and lowered it, watching as the leviathan immediately swam off, following the coast towards New Ninjago City.

“Let’s get to work. The faster we get this done is the faster we can wrap up the Overlord once and for all.” Nya says and they all nodded.

“What are we making?” Cole asked her.

“What will it do?” Zane queries.

“It should have mega range and a fixed entry of who can use it.” Kai added, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

“I have a few ideas…” Nya says as she reached her hand out to Kai who took it.

Cole took Kai’s hand and Zane took both Nya’s and Cole’s.

From their place seated in the sand from where they had collapsed together, the six ninja watched in awe as the gods worked, all four of them glowing, light concentrating in the middle of their small circle. It glowed even brighter, making it impossible for them to keep watching. They looked away, shielding their eyes as the four created. Once the light vanished, a small device floated amidst them all and Nya snatched it out of the air.

“You’re a genius Nya.” Kai praised and Nya grinned as she flipped the small, thumb sized device in the air and caught it again.

“It was a matter of deduction. It’s natural for us to rest in a place where our elements occur naturally.” Nya says lightly then pressed the sole button on the device and a holo-map of the world showed up. “You were at the Temple of fire, Zane in the Birch Forest, Cole, you were in the Underworld and I’m at the sea. Which means Jay would be somewhere with a great amount of electrical energy.” She says, gesturing to their former and current locations, to the eastern side of Ninjago.

“That’s the Wind Farms, right?” Cole asked, tapping on the location on the map and it zoomed in to where the tower was nested in sharp hills and cliffs.

“Not quite.” Zane says, crossing his arms. “The Wind Farms gather electricity from the constant storms that blow in from the Floating Ruins not too far away.” He explained.

“So then, Jay’s at the Floating Ruins?” Kai asked them and they nodded at him. “Looks like he’s taken locations from me.” He says with a grin and Nya huffed, turning off the device.

“We know where he is now. It’s time we get going.” She told him as she walked towards where she knew they parked the Bounty.

“Let’s go.” Zane says to the group of ninja as they stood.

“Who do you think will be next? Only Nelson and Gene are left.” Brad says as they walked behind the four.

“Gene.” Antonia, Sally and Jake all said together, sending Gene into a sputtering fit.

“Why me?! Why not Nelson?!” He yelled as Nelson listened in curiously and Antonia shrugged.

“After Jay comes Lloyd, their leader. It’s logical for a leader to test another leader.” Sally explained.

“Wait- but I’m not the leader…” Nelson spoke up and all but Jake gave him an unimpressed look.

Jake just looked confused at why he didn’t know this already.

“And besides.” Antonia says picking up were Sally left off. “The last test is naturally going to be the hardest. Do you want to have the last test?” She asked Gene who looked daunted at what the final test might hold.

“You know what? I hope it’s me next.” Gene says then began climbing aboard the ship.

The others followed behind him up the rope while Nelson paused at the bottom, looking out towards the sea.

“Am I… Really the leader?” He asked himself hopefully before he climbed up the ladder.

___________

“There it is. The Floating Ruins.” Kai says from the front of the ship as they rode through the storm, unphased by the awfully close lightning strikes.

“It brings back a lot of memories, doesn’t it?” Cole huffed, a fond smile on his face.

“Indeed.” Zane agrees as they looked down at the ruins of a very ancient city below them. “Our first mission to acquire the golden weapons. It was quite exhilarating.” He laughed lightly.

“Especially with those bone heads on our tail.” Kai laughed too, feeling reminiscent. 

“Meanwhile, I was tied up in a stuffy volcano.” Nya says dryly and they all laughed in good nature.

Meanwhile, the six ninja were terrified with hairs lifting up due to the strong electric charge in the air.

“Let’s hope the ship doesn’t get hit by lightning!” Gene says anxiously as he brought the ship down for an unsteady landing in a small clearing amidst the stone ruins.

The group stumble as they finally touched down, relieved once they were on steady ground but yelping once lightning struck right next to the ship.

“Let me guess. He’s right at the top of that thing, isn’t he?” Brad says, looking up at the structure before him, noting that it looked like a giant nunchuck drawn all the way out.

“Yup. I can sense him from here.” Kai says as he hopped over the side of the ship, holding up a hand and reflecting a huge bolt of lightning back at the storm. “Huh. Neat.” He says, looking at his untouched palm.

“And you guys can’t just go up there and wake him?” Gene asked uneasily as they hopped off the ship.

Before any of them could say anything, a loud screech echoed loud with loud wing beats.

“What was that?” Jake asked as they all scanned the area.

“A bird. A very big bird.” Nelson says spotting it flying in the sky. It was almost as big as Zane’s except this bird was light blue with lightning arcing along its wing and tail feathers, especially along the feathers that stuck up on its head, giving it a halo of lightning.

Said bird held its head back then spat a bolt of lightning at them, only Cole’s quick reflexes saving them by rising a slab of earth to block it.

“Does this answer your question?” Cole asked Gene sarcastically and he nodded dumbly.

“You know the usual drill. We’ll keep her busy while the rest of you get to Jay.” Kai told them before he vaulted himself over the large slab of rock, blasting a fireball at the thunderbird but it easily dodged, showing that not only was it armed with lighting, but it was fast too.

He narrowly dodged a lightning bolt to the face and another to the side.

“It’s fast. Of course it’s fast.” Nya sighed as Cole then Zane rushed out to help Kai keep it distracted long enough for the ninja to get to Jay. “Go now. I’ll cover you.” She told them and they nodded.

“On three.” Nelson told them and they nodded. “Three!” He yelled then rushed out, stunning his team for a moment before they rushed out after him too, Nya taking to the skies to make sure no bolts of lightning caught them.

“Where the heck was one and two?!” Brad yelled after Nelson as they caught up.

“No time for them!” He yelled back. “We get to the base, we use Airjitzu and we don’t stop until we get to the top!” Nelson yelled over the continuous thunder.

“But won’t we be left in the open?! That bird’s lightning isn’t the only one we have to worry about!” Gene yelled back.

“Nya’s covering us! And if she has to help the others, look! The Floating Ruins is filled with floating ruins!” Nelson yelled and they looked up to see the rocks and debris floating around the long chain leading to the top.

“But doesn’t that make getting to the top even harder?!” Sally yelled then yelped once a lightning bolt struck nearby.

“Sorry guys! Water isn’t very effective against lightning!” Nya yelled down at them, resorting to her influence over gravity to navigate floating chunks of rocks to block the lightning now.

She kept her eyes on the sky as well as on the thunderbird chasing Cole with a trail of fire and ice behind it. Dealing with the natural lightning from the storm was unpredictable as is. Taking both the storm and the bird on might clear a path for errors she couldn’t afford. She tugged a slab of rock to quickly block the bolt of lightning from hitting the group then another to protect herself. As long as she remained focus, she’d be alright.

“Airjitzu now! Go! Go!” Nelson told them and they were quick to ascend into the air, navigating around the rock and debris orbiting the length of the thick chains leading skybound with relative ease.

“Huh. This is actually easier than I expected!” Brad says as he dropped down on a large slab of rock then took off again.

“Haven’t you learned yet?! When you say things get easier, that’s exactly when it gets harder!” Sally yelled up at him.

“There was no need to Jinx us!” Gene yelled across at him then looked up in time to see something sparking in the air.

They almost looked like stars.

“What are they?!” Jake asked as he stopped on a small slab of rock to watch as they floated down.

It took Gene a second- but then he looked at them horrified.

“Jake! Don’t touch them! They’re-!”

“Ow!” Jake yelped once the small floating seed like thing shocked him painfully.

“- Lightning Buds!” Gene finished a little too late.

“Lightning Buds?! I’ve never heard of them before!” Nelson yells as he stopped to check up on Jake, checking his hand for any burns.

“They only grow here! They won’t leave a physical injury but the initial shock they give is pretty painful!” Gene explained as they all came in to check on Jake, despite the small space there.

“But… There’s so many! How are we going to make it past them?!” Antonia asked and they looked around for any clear paths from the buds that were slowly but surely lowering to their levels and found none.

“Uh, a little help Nya?!” Sally called out and she glanced over at them then up.

“Of course.” She says dryly at the sight of the shock inducing seedlings. “I’ll draw them towards me but you’ll have to be quick. They’re still in bloom so there’ll be more coming.” Nya told them, already using gravity to draw them out of their path.

“You heard her! The second there’s a clear or mostly clear path, we go again!” Antonia told them and they nodded, watching as the sparking buds floated towards Nya.

“There!” Jake pointed out a path up with very sparse amount of buds.

“Ninja go!” They yelled, ascending quickly, a yelp or two sounding once the leftover buds zapped them.

“I can see the top!” Nelson announced and Gene felt his anxiety increase ten fold.

He really doesn’t want to do this test thing but he’d also rather do this one than Lloyd’s. It’s going to be traumatizing, no doubt but Jay’s is likely to be far lighter nightmare fuel,

“Woah!” A massive, powerful gust of wind blew then, breaking their concentration and sending them into a screaming freefall.

Gene grunted as he managed to fall on a small rock his arms, legs and head hung off then stared wide eyed as his friends fell further. He sighed in relief once he saw them activate their Airjitzu before they hit the ground.

“You have to keep going.” He looked across at Nya who wasn’t at all close to where he was, amazed yet again she can speak at a normal level and still be heard perfectly over this continuous thunder. “It wasn’t luck why everyone else feel all the way down but you. You’re the one Jay chose. You need to get to the top.” She told him and he was even more anxious now.

He has to be the one to take this test. Oh great. He swallowed then managed to get to his feet on the rock, looking up at the top not too far away, his short hair on end from the electric charge in the air still. Well… It's now or never, huh? With that, he took a deep breath and activated his Airjitzu, his heart pounding as he got closer and closer to the top. Finally, there it was right in front of him. He stepped on, dispelling his Airjitzu when-

“Gene.” He tensed then looked across at Jay standing in a space of endless clear skies.

He looked around, startled at the sudden change in scenery before warily looking to where Jay was watching him, a small smile on his face.

“Are you ready for your trial?” Jay spoke again and Gene couldn’t stop the incredulous look that crossed his expression.

Who would ever be ready to be tested by a god?

“No but I don’t have a choice, do I?” Gene settled on saying and was immediately on edge when Jay frowned.

“Of course you do.” Jay says and Gene looked at him surprised.

“I do?” He asked him, already getting excited at the prospect of not doing this.

“Yeah. You or any of your friends could walk away at any moment.” Jay told him and relief filled Gene- before the realization hit.

“But if we… If I walk away… You won’t get revived.” He pointed out.

“Yes, that’s true.” Jay says and Gene gave him a deadpan expression.

How is that a choice?

“Every action has a consequence.” Was all Jay says to answer his unspoken question. “So what will you do? Will you take my trial? Or will you walk away?” He asked Gene, tilting his head to the side, smile back on his face.

Gene only sighed. Walking away wasn’t an option, as much as he’d like it to be. Because walking away meant the destruction of Ninjago itself and he was apart of Ninjago.

“I’ll take your trial.” Gene says, hoping the reluctance he felt saying so wasn’t too obvious in his voice.

“Alright.” Jay nodded and suddenly, a gust of wind shot up from behind Gene, startling him.

He looked behind himself with wide eyes, seeing the Floating Ruins below.

“Fall.” Jay told him and Gene looked at Jay bewildered.

Did he hear him right? Did he just ask him to fall?! All the way down there?! He wouldn’t survive a fall like that!

“... You’re joking, right?” Gene felt the need to ask him, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Usually, yes.” Jay admits but then crossed his legs so he was seated mid air. “But not in this case. Your trial is to let yourself fall.” He told him and Gene wanted to ask if he could just walk away.

Fall?! From here?! He’ll die! Literally! But then again, if he doesn’t do this, he’ll die too. It’s a lose, lose situation. He glanced back at Jay who was watching him expectantly then back at the drop that awaited him. Given his weight and the height of the drop before him, he should hit the ground in 6.25 seconds. That’s relatively quick. He took a breath. Well. If he was supposed to go, he’d like to give the world a fighting chance. He stepped closer to the edge, wind rushing in to meet him. He then squeezed his eyes shut as he leaned forward, dropping out of the strange space, down, down, down. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to see it coming. His only regret is not finding the guts to tell his father that he was a piece of shit.

“Got yah!” He blinked his eyes open, startled once he was caught.

“You alright?”

“That was some fall.”

“I was almost worried we wouldn’t be fast enough.”

“Or strong enough.”

Gene looked around at his friends with wide eyes, surprised to see that all five of them had come together and caught him, their Airjitzu combining as one large vortex with their teamwork. The thought of his friends, of anyone catching him hadn’t so much as crossed his mind… Tears welled up in his eyes as they lowered to the floors of the ruins.

“Hey don’t cry!” Brad sputtered as they set him down slowly.

“Come on. It wasn’t that scary, was it?” Antonia says lightly, trying to lift the mood.

“You’re ok.” Sally reassured, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah! You’re in one piece!” Jake grinned at him.

“We’ll always catch you so you don’t have to worry about falling.” Nelson smiled at him and that really hit home, even more tears streaming down Gene’s face as he began to hiccup.

“Nelson!” They yelled at him, piling in for a group hug.

“What? What did I say?” Their leader asked confused and they only pulled him into the hug.

The thunderbird finally settled then, immediately ignoring the three gods, no longer interested.

Cole, Kai and Zane shared a look before they disappeared in a flare of their main elements, reappearing at the top of the ruins where a Fulgurite statue lay, breaking open to reveal their friends.

“You just had to make the kid cry, huh?” Kai says as Jay took a deep breath.

“S’ not my fault. How was I supposed to know he’d cry.” Jay mumbled then opened his eyes slowly, grinning up at his friends now. “Long time no see.” He told them lightly and they laughed, Cole helping him up to his feet, unphased by the currents of lightning he felt running through his arm.

Jay rolled his shoulders and just like that, a thin, almost transparent blue shawl appeared over his close fitting blue sleeveless shirt, the material shifting and arcing like lightning itself with the slightest of his movements. The back of the shawl passed his darker blue pant covered thighs and stopped just at the top of a similar coloured pair of flat shoes adorning his feet. Around his head and shoulders was a noticeably blue aura, filled with occasional sparks and arcs of lightning and the clear smell of ozone. His glowing blue eyes were filled with warmth at the sight of his friends however. He’s missed them.

“We could say the same.” Zane smiled before they all piled in for a group hug.

“We’ll catch up later. We still have to wake Lloyd…” Cole says as they pulled back and they sobered at that.

They know, with no doubt at all, that Lloyd’s test will make or break this team. They just hope that their trials gave them enough grounding to make it through. If not… Lloyd will not awaken and they can only postpone what the Overlord plans to do. There will be destruction yet again, mass death, yet again when he reawakens, whether it be one or one thousand years down the line. Yes, they were all incredibly powerful apart and in groups. But they are strongest all together, whole. There was always the option to wait for Lloyd to wake naturally but in truth, that could take several hundred, even thousands of years. That was time they could afford but Ninjago could not. To defeat the Overlord once and for all is not as simple as it sounds. It requires radical change in the likes Ninjago nor the rest of the 14 Realms have ever seen before. They looked down at the group comforting a sniffling Gene.

They would never place a burden this large on their shoulders if the situation didn’t call for it. All they can do for now is to put their faith in their success. They descended the Floating Ruins, Jay approaching his Thunderbird as he did.

“Lili.” He called and the large bird glanced up from where she was preening her feathers before perking up at the sight of him.

She lifted off the ground, flying right at Jay- only to drastically reduce in size just before she hit him. Jay laughed, hugging the still relatively large bird close, the size of her taking up all of his chest.

“Thanks for looking out for me.” Jay told her fondly, stroking the feathers on her head fondly and she cooed, preening under his attention. “I’d give you a good preening if we had the time but you know we don’t.” He says, looking down into her glowing blue eyes.

“You know what to do.” He says, opening his arms and Lili immediately began to hover, giving a trill of confirmation before flying off, enlarging as she did. “Well. No time to waste.” Jay says, turning around to face the ninja as they walked over.

“Lloyd’s the last one left after all.” Zane adds.

“And while we may know exactly where he is…” Cole says then then glanced at Kai.

“His trial is no doubt the hardest of them all.” Kai told them bluntly and they looked terrified.

“So then… You know what his trail is?” Sally asked them.

“Not at all.” Was Nya’s immediate answer.

“But we’re sure you can pass it. You have all the means to, that we’re sure of.” Zane encouraged but they didn’t feel encouraged at all.

“Don’t worry guys. I’m sure I can pass it. No problem.” Nelson told his team with a grin and they were torn between being amazed and very unimpressed by his ability to grin in a situation like this.

“Onto the ship everyone. The Dark Island is our final stop.” Nya says, ushering them off towards where the ship was left.

At least Nelson had the right attitude.

_____________

“Am I the only one who’s nervous? Because I’m very nervous.” Gene blurts, breaking the eerie silence that spanned from take off to the middle of the Endless Sea as they were now.

“I’m just hungry.” Jake says as his stomach rumbled.

The mention of hunger had all of their stomachs rumbling. They haven’t eaten in over a da-

“Hey wait. Shouldn’t the sun have set a few hours back?” Brad asked, realizing that it was very much mid afternoon still.

“Yeah that can’t happen until we get rid of the Overlord. If I let the sun set, the temperatures will plummet in Ninjago and trigger an early winter.” Kai spoke up from the deck of the ship, glancing at the group on the bridge. “That will complicate things for the people still trying to get out of the general area around the city.” He told them and yeah that made sense.

“Anyone up for a fish dinner?” Nya asked, lifting a large orb of seawater up that revealed several large fish swimming inside.

“Er. We’d love to but I haven’t had the chance to take care of the kitchen on board.” Gene says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“That’s fine.” Zane spoke up as he pushed himself off the railings. “I’ll take care of the kitchen and dinner. Nya, if you could get me some seaweed too, I’d appreciate it.” He says to her as he headed towards the kitchen space inside.

“Jay, could you get a few things?” Zane asked before he headed inside.

“No prob Bob.” Jay says then vanished in a large bolt of lightning that startled the group.

“This Ninja thing isn’t for the faint of heart.” Gene sighed as he held his hand over his pounding heart.

“Gene, you’re the faint of heart.” Antonia says dryly and he gave her an insulted look while the others snickered.

__________

The team of ninja stared wide eyed at the large stack of sushi rolls on the platter before them, a plate and soy sauce before them as well as chopsticks. These looked like the things you’d see on the internet. And he made them so quickly. Just less than 10 minutes ago, they mentioned being hungry and here they were. 

“Well? Dig in.” Jay says with a grin, his own plate of rolls and small bowl of soy sauce in his lap as he floated in mid air.

“No need to tell me twice.” Cole says around a shrimp roll, unphased when Zane smacked his arm and lectured him about talking with his mouth closed.

“You sure you’re not the god of food Zane?” Kai asked in a similar position as Jay, a soy sauce soaked roll half way up to his mouth before he ate it with appreciative hums.

“I wouldn’t know about that.” Zane says bashfully from around the small table of ice he shared with Nya.

The ninja watched as the gods chatted lighty before turning back to the meal in front of them. It’s not that they didn’t want to eat it, it’s just-

“Woah! Amazing!” Nelson beamed at the half eaten roll as Jake ate quickly next to him.

“Slow down or else you’ll get a stomach ache.” Sally admonished Jake who swallowed then looked at her sheepishly. 

The other four shared a look with each other then at the food. It would be rude to decline and rude was something they didn’t want to be. That and they’d need the energy for this last trial. It wouldn’t do for any of them to faint from hunger. Without any further hesitation, they began eating too, awing at the amazing taste. By the time everyone had their fill (and by their fill, they mean almost full but not fully as moving around a lot as they have been on a full stomach wouldn’t be ideal), the Dark Island was in sight. Brad was glad that he hadn’t eaten himself full. Not only because it meant he can enjoy more during the trip back to Ninjago, but because of the anxiety turning his stomach into a pretzel. Those other ‘trials’ were hard. Incredibly so. And if Lloyd’s would be as tough as they say… He looked across at Nelson complimenting a bashful Zane on his meal skills, asking for some tips while he was at it. Could he even do it? He’s so deep in his hero worship, he doubts the gravity of the situation,  _ his  _ situation, has hit yet.

Brad sighs, looking out at the ominous stretch of land they were fast approaching. He just hopes he doesn’t mess things up.

_____

“So this is the Dark Island…” Gene whispered as they all looked around at the jagged landscape that manages to bare life in the form of jungles.

“These jungles are too big to have grown in just a few years ago. Do you think the trees grew while the island was submerged?” Sally asked Gene who hummed in thought as he looked for a good parking spot.

“It’s highly possible. The Dark Island is largely undiscovered territory. The trees or whatever wildlife it might have may not work the same way as things do in Ninjago.” Gene shrugged. “The term island, while still fitting, is a little overused however. This is clearly a continent.” He huffed, finding a stretch of clear, flat land and bringing the ship in there to land.

“Yeah but the Dark Continent doesn’t sound very scary.” Jack pointed out.

“Actually, it kinda does.” Antonia says as she looked around. “The Dark Island sounds small. Now when you day the Dark Continent, it implies there’s an entire continent filled with dark creatures and things of nightmares. A  _ whole  _ **_continent_ ** . Can you imagine having such a large mass of land filled with nothing but monsters?” She asked them and the group looked a few shades paler.

“I’m sure the island is fine.” Nelson says as he hopped over the bridge once Gene landed safely. “Now let’s hurry!” He yelled up at them.

“Hurry where? You don’t even know where we’re going.” Sally pointed out with light irritation.

“That’s where we come in.” Jay says as he and the other gods walked out on deck. “We’re heading to the Temple of Light.” He told them as the rest of the ninja came down onto the deck.

“And where is that?” Antonia asked as she looked around.

“Up there.” Cole says, pointing out the small but tall cluster of hills across the sandy plains they were on.

“How do we get up there?” Jake asked owlishly.

“With a lot of hard work.” Cole told them with an amused smirk.

Mortification filled the team.

________

“Thank god for Airjitzu.” Brad panted on the edge of a cliff facing, looking up at the top of the temple that was finally,  _ finally  _ in sight.

“You’re welcome.” Jay says lightly as he idly flew by.

Brad couldn’t help the glare he tossed at his back. Antonia was the first of the group to reach the top- but what waited for them surprised her. Zane huffed through his nose as he walked by her, leaving ice in his wake, standing before the petrified figures.

“You two are dedicated as always, aren’t you…” He says fondly to the obsidian figure of Garmadon and the far larger white quartz figure of the Ultra Dragon who were guarding the door to where Lloyd slept.

He then turned around to face the ninja once they all made it to the top.

“Prepare yourselves.” He warns them, just as cracking could be heard behind him as they began to wake.

The six ninja watched with wide eyes as the obsidian began to fall away from the four armed figure before they broke through fully with a growl, taking a defensive pose, his tail flicking back and forth as he glared them down with piercing red eyes. The Lord Garmadon was intimidating enough, but then the four headed dragon broke free and- was it them or was it bigger than what they’ve seen in museums? All four heads roared at them, their dual pair of wings (they could swear before it had only one pair that were smaller) spread defensively from where it stood over Lord Garmadon. The six ninja stared, not sure what to do next. Does Nelson- Does Nelson need to  _ fight  _ them?!

“Uh. A little help?” Gene squeaked out but Nya shook her head from where they stood at the sidelines.

“Sorry, but this time, we can’t help you.” She told them and they looked horrified at her.

“What?!” Brad sputtered. “But we can’t take them on by ourselves!” He yelled.

“I’m sorry but you’ll have to.” Zane told them solemnly.

“We aren’t allowed to interfere in any way.” Kai told them regretfully.

“Even if we wanted to.” Jay adds, reaching out to touch the space before him and a gold barrier with green flecks flickered to life, spanning the entire platform before the temple with them inside before fading out again. “You can do it. We know you can.” He encouraged but they didn’t feel very encouraged.

“Thanks guys.” Nelson says with a grin, pulling his sword out against an enemy for the first time.

Well. All but Nelson that is.

“I won’t allow just anyone to get to my son. Don’t expect me to go easy on you.” Garmadon warned them, purple smoke building in his four hands before solidifying into blades.

The four heads of the Ultra Dragon growled then, as if confirming his words.

“We won’t need you to.” Nelson says with a smirk, holding his sword defensively as his teammates looked at him horrified because yes!

They’d like him to go easy on them! Very much so!

“We’ll pass this final trial and save Ninjago without fail!” Nelson yelled as he charged at Garmadon, sword held firm.

He swung at the dark lord who only dodged then whacked him back with his tail.

“Careless.” Garmadon tsked as Nelson got to his feet again, holding his sword.

“But determined!” Nelson yelled as he rushed at Garmadon again.

His teammates watched, unsure if they should be helping or not. This was his trial after all. Sure they all had their own swords, the forgotten weight of it on their backs coming back with full force. But they were included in the barrier, not kept out like the gods were. Surely that means something…

“Crap!” Nelson yelled, quickly jumping to the side, out of the way of the Ultra Dragon’s fire- only to put himself in the full path of Garmadon’s kick, the force of it sending him skidding to a stop before his friends, his sword clattering to the ground a moment after.

“Nelson!” Jake yelled, checking up on him.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Nelson told him as he got up slowly, his ribs aching from the force of the kick but nothing felt broken which meant that he could still fight.

“Don’t just go running into a fight without a plan!” Gene snapped at him, grabbing him by the arm before he could run in again.

“Or without a weapon!” Antonia admonished.

“This is  _ the  _ Lord Garmadon! You have to think this through!” Sally hissed, glancing back at the dark lord watching them boredly.

“Former.” Garmadon corrects impatiently. “The next time you come at me, this fight won’t stop until you fail.” He forewarns, reaching up to stroke the larger maw of Wisp’s head once he lowered it next to him.

“How humble of him to give us time to plan.” Brad says sarcastically.

“Let’s not waste it.” Gene says, shooting a glare at him then turned back to Nelson. “Getting smacked around clearly isn’t a good idea. You’re at an overwhelming disadvantage, and that’s not considering the four headed dragon also wanting a piece of you. That’s five on one. Now that I think about it, it’s impossible to win this fight.” He says in distress, his mind working as fast as it could to think of a plan.

“Gene’s right. It’s impossible to-”

“But we can’t just give up!” Nelson protested, a frown on his face.

“No-one said anything about giving up.” Sally told him, speaking slowly as if speaking to a child.

Nelson might as well be.

“This only means that winning the fight isn’t the trial.” Sally continues, looking to the rest of her friends. “Think about it! All of our trials were obscure in one way or another. It’s never as straightforward as waking them. We never had to deal with whoever’s guarding their resting place either.” She pointed out and they considered that, now sure that was the case.

“Maybe you’re only supposed to get past them to get inside for the real trial?” Jake suggested and Gene’s eyes widened.

“That’s it! That has to be! Jake you’re a genius!” He yelled, holding onto Jake’s shoulders.

“Well I don’t know about  _ genius… _ ” Jake says bashfully.

“Ok. So we know what we need to do but that’s still not easy. The Ultra Dragon is huge and Garmadon is fast.” Antonia pointed out.

“If he could get on top of the Ultra Dragon however, he should be able to find a way to get across before Garmadon gets up there too.” Sally offered and Gene considered that.

“It could work. But how would he get on the Ultra Dragon’s back?” He asked, considering it.

“Airjitzu. Duh.” Antonia says and Gene perked up at that.

“There! You have a plan.” He says to Nelson who nodded.

“Ok. Get on the Ultra Dragon’s back. No problem.” He says, looking back to Garmadon and the dragons that were watching him.

“Good luck.” Jake told him and Nelson grinned at him brightly.

“Thanks!” He says before turning around to face both his opponents. “Ninja go!” He yells, charging at them.

Immediately, there was a beam of ice shooting at him but he quickly dodged, ducking out of the way of Garmadon’s kick, learning his lesson after last time. What he didn’t anticipate was his tail smacking him back. He skidded on his feet but ran forwards, towards the Ultra dragon while wondering what the hell kind of tail that was to smack him around so easily. Garmadon was quick to change directions, purple blades held firm as he came at him with alarming speed, just as the earth head of the dragon turned towards him. He skidded to a stop- only to launch himself into the air, leaving the attack of rock and sand to hit Garmadon. He looked to where the dragon was distracted with attacking Garmadon before his eyes widened. He landed further back from them both to the dismay of his team.

“Nelson! What are you doing?!” Brad yelled at him and he looked back to where they were fuming.

“You had a clear shot!” Antonia stressed, gesturing to the dragons.

“You won’t get a chance like that again!” Gene yelled, red in the face with anger how their way out of this mess was just thrown away.

“For the last time, you can’t just fight them! You don’t even have your sword!” Sally yelled, gesturing to the sword to the far right of the Ultra Dragon.

“You have to do it again!” Jake yelled out to him and Nelson grinned widely.

“Don’t worry guys! I’ll-”

“Fail.” Nelson jolted as he heard Garmadon’s voice directly behind him, turning around to look up at the four armed dark lord with wide eyes. “The trial was failed.” He spoke again then turned away, back to where the Ultra dragon was settling back into its original position, getting ready to return to sleep.

Nelson stared at his back with wide eyes as it got further and further away.

“No… No wait…” He got out, barely hearing his own voice over the sudden ringing in his ears, his heartbeat picking up speed, thudding loudly against his chest. “We can’t fail! We can’t! All of Ninjago will be… Will be…” He could barely catch his breath all of a sudden.

“You’ve failed the moment you first approached me and continued to fail there after.” Garmadon says as he glanced over his shoulder. “If Ninjago is brought to ruins by your failure then so be it.” He says, turning around fully now.

“No! We can’t accept that!” Antonia yelled as they rushed forward, standing before Nelson.

“Yeah! Give him another chance! He can pass! You’ll see!” Jake yelled while Garmadon looked at them unimpressed.

“Give them another chance Garmadon. Please?” Kai asked the Oni, standing closest to him as he was, all of the gods spectating in a wide semicircle.

“The death toll is already great. We can’t afford to postpone this any further. Give them another chance to prove themselves.” Zane urged him.

“They would have never made it this far if they didn’t have it in them.” Nya says softly, looking to the team of them.

“All they need is time.” Cole agrees.

“Just one more chance.” Jay pleads and Garmadon looked over the new ninja group, seeing the pleading looks on their faces.

He huffed through his nose.

“Very well.” He spoke up and everyone sagged in relief. “But.” Garmadon says and they all tensed again.

“ _ You, _ aren’t allowed to retake the trial.” He says, red eyes fixed on Nelson who looked even more horrified than before.

“But I have to! This is-” He was cut off by Garmadon sending him flying back with a flare of his purple powers.

Cole caught him before he could injure himself however but Nelson was quick to jump out of his arms and rushed over, pounding his fist on the barrier that now blocked him out.

“No! This is my trial! I should be the one to take it!” Nelson yelled as his friends looked at him with various stages of terror and trepidation.

“This is my condition to retake the trial. If you don’t want them taking the trial so badly then I can always keep the original verdict.” Garmadon says lightly and Nelson’s eyes widened.

“We’d like to take it!” Sally was quick to say.

“Yeah! Don’t listen to Nelson!” Gene says quickly, not wanting to do this more than all of them but also not willing to let everything they’ve gone through to get here be for nothing, not wanting those who died while they were getting here to have done so for nothing.

“You knocked him around pretty badly. He probably has a concussion.” Brad says with a nervous laugh. 

“Then let the retake commence.” Garmadon spoke and the Ultra Dragon rose up again with a loud roar.

Nelson watched helplessly from the sidelines, sliding to his knees as they took on his trial. The one he failed to do. This was their most dangerous yet. He wouldn’t forgive himself if anything happened to them because of his failure. He should have taken the opening, no matter what. He should have! If he could only go back in time and take it. He would willingly if it meant sparing his friends! Maybe that was the real trial, to see how willing he was to save Ninjago, to save his  _ friends _ . He was an idiot! He squeezed his hands into tight fists, seeing Brad take a direct hit from the Ultra Dragon’s tail that sent him flying back into the barrier keeping him out.  _ No… _ Antonia yelled as she dropped down from the air, sword poised to strike the fire dragon’s head but she was met with an icy blast that froze her in a solid block of ice. It shattered on impact with the ground and she didn’t get up again.  _ No!... _ Jake grunted as he received a double punch to his diaphragm, the force of it sending him skidding across the ground.  _ No! _

Gene was hit by a bolt of the lightning dragon’s lightning, effectively stunning him long enough for the dragon to smack both him and Sally away with his tail.  **_No!!!_ ** All of them were down now, groaning as they tried to muster the strength to get up again. He can’t just sit here, doing nothing, just watching! He had to do anything he could to help!

“Guys! Come on guys! I know you can do it! You’ve-”

“Shut up!” Antonia snapped at him, startling Nelson.

“Oh dear.” Zane whispered softly, knowing this scene quite well from his past.

It reminded him of shortly after they became ninjas, when the Monastery was burned down by the serpentine. His friends had snapped at him the same way and while he hadn’t lied that what they had said wasn’t the reason why he had left, their words still had hurt deeply.

“I’m sick and tired of you and your ‘you can do it’ bs!” She yelled as she struggled to sit up, her body still recovering from the sudden freeze and the jarring drop. “Have you ever considered we  _ can’t _ do this and your so called ‘optimism’ is gonna get one of us hurt!” She glared at him as Nelson only stared at her with wide eyes.

“Everything won’t be fine and dandy, just because the original ninja, your precious idols are around!” Gene also snapped, no longer caring if he’d upset the gods with his words.

He was probably about to die anyway after all. None of them can come close to passing Garmadon or the Ultra Dragon. Die trying seems to be the only outcome for this trial.

“Do you even grasp the psychological damage they’ve inflicted on us, just to pass some stupid tests?!” He yelled at Nelson who only remained knelt there, eyes wide in shock.

“I can’t comprehend just _why_ Sensei Wu would choose _you_ out of all of us to be the leader! Literally _anyone else_ **but** you would be a better leader!” Sally hissed, managing to get to her feet, her sword dragging along the ground as she did. “You have the mentality of an overexcited child when you’re in the presence of those five! Brad was literally having _the_ worst panic attacks I’ve ever witnessed and all you’ve done is put on that stupid smile and say he can do it. Who the hell even does that? You wouldn’t even try to ask them to take things easier on him!” She yelled at him.

“Not to mention you’re the reason we’re in this position to begin with!” Brad growled, on the ground still. “If you had taken the damn opening, This could have all been over! We wouldn’t have to be taking your trial on top of our own!” He yelled at him and Nelson remained quiet, staring at his team, their words piercing him like spears. So this was how they really felt, huh? He looked to Jake, the only one who hadn’t said anything. He was sitting quietly with his head down.

“... They’re right.” He finally spoke up, briefly meeting Nelson’s eyes then looking away. “I always thought you were an amazing leader but… But then at the beach… It was as if you didn’t even care that Brad was about to pass out from fear any second then, or even when he was in that cave for too long while it was filled with water. That… That was terrifying. And you just… Didn’t even care. I know I like Kai a lot but not enough to all but forget that my friends exist.” Jake says quietly.

“Don’t you dare tell us that. Not when we’re doing your part.” Gene told him coldly, finally staggering to his feet and silence fell.

Nelson held his head down.

_ ‘What do you have to say to all of that?’ _

Nelson gritted his teeth then got to his feet, head still hung. He then lifted it a furious expression on his face that caught them off guard.

“I don’t care?! Idols?! My fault?!” Nelson yelled, face reddening in his anger. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here to begin with and if I didn’t care about any of you, I wouldn’t be telling you guys you could do it!” He snapped back at them.

“I would never tell any of you that you could do something you couldn’t! I know all of you have limits! Of course you do, you’re human! I was just as scared for Brad as the rest of you but you were all panicking as is! Someone has to keep a level head! If I started panicking with you, we’d only be making the situation worse! And what? Do you think it was easy putting a smile on my face through all of this? I put that smile there so you guys could at least know that one of us thought we’d make it thought this ok, no matter how big of a lie that is! And no matter how many amounts of looking up I do to the ninja will ever make me abandon my friends! They may be one of my favorite set of people since i was a kid but I’m just as terrified of them as all of you are, if not even more! I’ve seen what their powers can do first hand! I almost died each and every time one of them went off! I have the scars from the broken glass, from the sun burn, nightmares from the sea about to swallow the city, from Ninjago being ripped apart, from everything being frozen over! That won’t go away any time soon! But despite all that, I know it isn’t their faults! They didn’t do it on purpose! You can call me stupid but I can fell it! They aren’t bad people! Just good people put in unfortunate situations!” Nelson paused to catch his breath, panting heavily as they stared at him in shock. “You’re right about one thing though. I can’t fathom why Sensei Wu would chose me as leader either. I’m nowhere near leadership material. I failed the trial. More than anything, this is where I don’t want you all to be: fighting them when I’m the one meant to take them on… I didn’t want to put more weight on your shoulders. I should have went on the Ultra Dragon’s back, lightning or not. I was selfish, thinking about my life before all of yours before all of Ninjago’s…” He says quietly, squeezing his hands into tight fists.

“Lightning…?” Sally whispered and they looked to the Ultra Dragon, watching wide eyed as electricity arced along it’s back as it waited patiently for the fight to begin again or stop once and for all.

Guilt slammed into the group hard.

“You’ve failed again.” Garmadon spoke up before any of them could muster up an apology and they looked up at him distraught. “And so you know, this trial was never his to begin with.” He adds, surprising them all.

“He was an advantage, an easy way to pass but you’ve all let that opportunity slip through your fingers. And now, for the second time, you’ve failed this trial. I don’t feel inclined to do this thrice.” Garmadon told them dryly.

“... What?... Why- Why do only they get to have a trial? I’m apart of the team too! I should shoulder some of the weight of this!” Nelson protested.

“You already passed your trial. Long before anyone else.” Garmadon told him and Nelson was even more bewildered.

“I did? When? I don’t recall ever getting a test...” Nelson says, wracking his brain.

When he received no answer, he turned back to see Garmadon and the ultra dragon as he first saw them, encased in obsidian and white quartz. The gods stepped forward then, their faces troubled.

“What do we do now? We can’t destroy the Overlord on our own, only postpone him.” Nya asked, looking at her friends.

“There’s nothing to do but to do what we can.” Kai says with a sigh, crossing his arms.

“We keep Ninjago safe for today. Tomorrow is uncertain.” Zane says solemnly.

“I thought my trial would help, would prepare them for this. Did I choose wrongly?” Jay whispered, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Mine seems to have worsened the situation, not help.” Nya says quietly.

“We all did what we could. Never forget that.” Cole told his friends seriously. “We might not be whole but we still have each other.” He told them and they were thankful to have him as a pillar of support, even as the doubts plagued them all still.

Nelson deflated, falling back to sit. They’ve failed and it was most likely his fault. Maybe if he had kept quiet when they had yelled at him then they could probably have a chance. He ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He paused then. After they had yelled at him, he could have almost sworn he heard someone ask him what he had to say to all of that… He was so caught up in the shock that he hadn’t even thought to-

“Hey Nel?” Nelson tensed then looked up, a feeling of trepidation washing over him once he saw his team walk up.

They’ve never called him that before. Even more guilt hit them at Nelson’s wary expression.

“I’m sorry!” Gene blurts first, rubbing his arm when Nelson looked genuinely surprised to hear that. “The things I’ve said-”

“We’ve all said… We shouldn’t have… We’re all sorry.” Sally interrupted.

“We should have put more faith in you, not just as our leader, but as our friend.” Antonia says, not bothering to even try and hide the guilt on her face.

“Mom always told me to never judge a book by its cover… I should have listened…” Jake says, shifting from side to side. “I’m sorry Nel. We should have known better…” He says quietly.

“ I didn’t even realize the Ultra Dragon was protecting its back. I’m glad you didn’t take the opening. We still need you around. As a friend and our leader… If you’ll have us that is…” Brad says hopefully.

Nelson looked them all over, seeing their nervous yet hopeful expressions. He then huffed then smiled at them, genuinely this time.

“It’s fine. We were bound to end up in a mess like this at some point.” Nelson told them, getting to his feet. “We’ve all got our flaws. I’ll try not to seem so careless from now on.” He promised them.

“You really don’t have to though.” Sally spoke up then gave a small, warm smile. “If Zane’s trial taught me anything, it’s to trust your heart.” She told him and Nelson smiled back.

“Kai’s trial taught me to be loyal to my friends, no matter what. I still need to work on it but I’m getting there!” Jake informed Nelson with a side grin.

“Cole’s trial taught me strength comes in different forms. Like keeping a level head, even in the worst of situations.” Antonia spoke up before she reached out and ruffled the shorter Nelson’s hair. “You’ve got that down. I should be taking lessons from you.” She says as Nelson laughed and pushed her hand away from his hair.

“Nya’s trial showed me there’s always two sides to things.” Brad spoke up for the first time about his trial. “The sea will always be scary to me… But I know it’s just its nature to be unpredictable and terrifying, just as much as it’s beautiful and alluring.” He shrugged.

“Big words there Brad.” Antonia teased and he huffed, pushing lightly at her shoulder.

“Jay’s trial showed me that I’m not as alone as I think I am. I have friends and I’m grateful for you guys.” Gene chimed in lightly and they immediately gathered in for a group hug.

A memory from much earlier crossed Nelson’s mind and he pulled back to look at his team, a wide grin on his face.

“I don’t know if it was my trial, but I remember being out in the Sea of Sand, looking in at Ninjago as the Overlord and his army of wyverns were destroying the city. I wanted to run off and never look back. I was so terrified, I could barely move. I could have. But… Then I remembered something. Something every ninja should know and take to heart.” He says as they all looked at him curiously, the gods included, drawn to their change in energies.

“What is it?” Jake asked him and Nelson grinned wider.

“Ninja never quit.” He says, holding his arm out.

“Ninja never quit.” Brad agrees, placing his hand on top of Nelson’s.

“Ninja never quit.” Antonia agrees placing her hand on Brad’s.

“Ninja never quit.” Sally says the same time that Jake did, placing her hand over Antonia’s, Jake’s hand on top of hers.

They all looked to Gene, a grin on their faces and he huffed through his nose, adjusting his glasses he somehow managed not to lose through this whole ordeal.

“Ninja…” He says, placing his hand on top of all of theirs. “ _ Never _ quit.” He says with his own grin and they all grinned wider.

“Ninja never quit!” They all yelled, throwing their hands up.

“Indeed they don’t.” They all turned around, wide eyed at Garmadon’s voice.

They looked on in shock as both he and the Ultra Dragon stepped aside from the large wooden doors with a gold dragon on each as they opened on its own. They stared for a moment longer before Jay broke the silence.

“Heh. The power of positive thinking.” He says and Cole and Zane laughed right away.

“Let’s not keep Lloyd waiting. Passing his trial is only part one of awakening him.” Nya says, walking ahead of them.

“Um- what? Part one?!” Gene says incredulously.

“I don’t think we can take any more trials.” Nelson says with a nervous laugh once they caught up.

“No need to worry.. There’s only one trial. The second part of Lloyd’s awakening is a ritual we’ll need you six for.” Zane says as they walked in.

“Woah…” Was their immediate awed reaction at the sight of the large emerald statue standing at the center of the temple, veins of gold throughout it.

“You knew they’d come through in the end, didn’t you.” Kai huffed softly, seeing the proud, even fond look frozen on his face, both of his hands held out.

“So what do we do now?” Jake asked as he rocked on his heels.

“I think it has something to do with this.” Sally says, inspecting the symbols and patterns on the ground.

“Looks like it.” Brad says then walked over to where the bird symbol was- only to freeze once the ground lit up beneath his feet.

He looked down, eyes wide in surprise once a diamond shaped platform glowed with the colour of his gi.

“Uh…” Was all he could get out.

“Incredible.” Gene says, awed as he walked over to where Brad was standing. “Judging by Brad’s example, we should all stand on an outer diamond. More likely on the ones closest to who gave us a trial.” He told the others before walking around to the other side of the large figure on the ground, spotting Jay’s symbol.

He walked on and no surprise when it began to glow indigo. One by one, the ninja found their place until all of them were standing on their respective piece. Well. All but Nelson. He frowned, watching as the gods took their positions on the inner mechanisms of the pattern on the ground, their glows noticeably brighter than the others.

“... What about me?” Nelson finally found the courage to ask and they all turned to where he stood on the sidelines.

“There’s one place left.” Kai says, gesturing to the space across from where the statue of Lloyd was.

Nelson stared owlishly.  _ He  _ was supposed to take the space before Lloyd? He swallowed then walked forward, his eyes on the emerald statue of his idol for so long, even now. His palms were sweating. He stood before Lloyd then stared at him, noting that he was still taller than him, if only by a few inches. Someone clearing their throat had him looking away. He blinked at Kai as he made gestures with his hands. He was confused until he looked back at Lloyd and realised his hands were held out. Oh. Oh no. His palms were really sweaty. He didn’t want Lloyd to awaken to that. He wiped them thoroughly on his gi before taking a breath and sliding his hands into the cool gem. He startles once a low pulse sounded then looked around. His eyes widened at the purple glow between the gods and his friends’ platforms. Curiously, he watched as one by one, the gods closed their eyes- only to open them again, completely overcast in gold. It was unnerving. He blinked once he noticed the gold in Lloyd’s emerald statue began to glow too, quickly taking over the greenness of it.

“Uh. Should I be worried?” Brad asked, looking down at his platform that began to glow brighter and brighter.

Before anyone could comment, the glow engulfed Brad in a pillar of light that lifted him off his feet. Nelson could only watch as one by one, the same began happening to his friends until he was left. He swallowed nervously, not sure what to expect or even do.

‘Relax.’ His eyes widened at that voice that brushed his mind.

It was Lloyd’s. No doubt. He was the one who asked him what he had to say earlier too. He breathed a slow breath then closed his eyes, willing his body to relax. The moment it did, he was engulfed in a feeling he couldn’t hope to describe. It wasn’t a bad one, not at all. The closest word he could find to what he felt was… Enlightenment. The light engulfing the other five ninja morphed into new colours as the same feelings washed over them. Their gi changed, upgrading to Airjitzu robes as golden weapons materialized into their hands. The ground glowed even brighter then, forcing Garmadon who had been spectating to shield his eyes. It all vanished in a flash, leaving behind the Ninja and the gods, now back to normal.

“Woah!” Jake gasped, being the first to notice the change. “I’m red! I’m the red ninja!” He beamed, looking himself over in amazement then looked at the golden sword he held in awe.

It clearly wasn’t the sword of fire, being thinner as it was but it held a dragon close to the hilt that made him excited. Antonia looked over her black and grey gi then at the golden Naginata she held in hand. She gave it a twirl then hummed her approval at it.

“Woah…” Brad says, looking over his black and cyan gi then looked at his golden spear in awe.

“A fan?” Sally says as she looked over the golden fans she held in hand.

She opened them, looking them over before she flicked her wrist, eyes lit up at the sight of the sharp spikes that slipped out at the top then.

“A fan.” She repeats in approval, only glancing her black and white gi then looking to Gene inspecting his blue and black gi then his golden sickle and chain.

“Wait. Why do we have your colours?” He asked, looking to Jay who was closest to him.

“Well, naturally we have to thank you all somehow for going through all of this, helping us out like you have, So we decided that this was the best way to do it.” Jay says with a grin.

“Even though you’ve awakened us now, we don’t plan on taking our former positions as ever watching, ever ready ninja. For an occasional crisis, sure but nothing else.” Nya says with a shrug.

“Sensei Wu spent a lot of time training you all and while the Elemental Alliance has things mostly under wraps, watching out for Ninjago is a part time job for them. That and they never like to ask for help, no matter how much they need it.” Cole added.

“So, since we have able bodied ninja right here who we trust, we thought: why not give your lives as ninja a little kick?” Kai says with a wide grin.

“And so we’ve passed along our elemental powers to you all.” Zane told them and their mouths dropped open. “We still have them if you’re worried. Lets just say… We’ve become the source of these powers. Indestructible sources.” He told them with a smile, using his powers to create a solid ball of ice to demonstrate.

Nelson frowned as he looked over himself however, past his golden staff he held and more at what he wore. His gi.. It was black… And purple. He looked up at Lloyd who was waiting for him to ask, mirth in his glowing green eyes.

“Um. W-wh-.” All of a sudden, Nelson’s tongue felt too big for his mouth.

He took a breath then swallowed.

“How comes… I’m still purple?” He managed to get out.

“Because the legacy of the Green Ninja isn’t one I’m willing to pass on. No-one deserves to shoulder that but me.” Lloyd told him lightly. “You have the potential for something better. Something new. It wasn’t hard to choose what powers to reward you with.” He shrugged then cleared his throat.

“Onto you, I bestow powers the likes of which Ninjago has never seen before.” He spoke, voice loud and echoing as a golden aura shone around him. “To you... The gift of Destiny, the ability to see and change the course of the near future, the ability to change the present and to influence the mind and the will of those around you. With great powers, come great responsibilities Nelson. I have faith that you will use it wisely.” He says, looking down at a wide eyed Nelson who nodded quickly.

“I’ll use them right! I promise!” He pledged, intimidated by the actual god before him.

“Good!” Lloyd says cheerily in his normal tone of voice, his golden aura lessening but not disappearing.

“You just killed the whole thing.” Kai chuckled as they walked over, Lloyd releasing Nelson’s hands to grin at his friends.

“The whole supreme god thing isn’t me, you guys know that.” Was all he said with a shrug.

“How is it that you’ve somehow downgraded in wardrobe?” Jay asked, on the verge of laughing at the cloud patterned pajamas he wore.

“What? I was in for a very long sleep. I might as well get comfortable.” He huffed before his clothes changed into black jeans with a dark green hoodie over it, a gold shirt underneath, topped off with simple black sneakers. “So are we going to kick the Overlord’s butt once and for all or what?” He asked his friends who huffed at him.

“We haven’t the time to dally.” Garmadon reminded them as the Ultra Dragon shifted eagerly next to him but knew he wasn’t allowed inside after last time.

“Right. We’ll get the Bounty after he’s dealt with.” Nya told them then turned to Lloyd. “Now that we’re all together, you can leave everything else to us. If you would?” She asked him and he nods- only to pause at Kai’s gasp, his eyes wide.

“Solaris.” He whispered then grew deathly serious. “Let’s go.” He says and Lloyd’s gold and green powers flared to life around them before they all vanished as if they’ve never been.

___________________________

In Ninjago, the Overlord only grew increasingly annoyed, all out angry now. He hasn’t been able to completely leave the city, now at the border of the city and the Badlands. That was because of the creatures that kept appearing every few hours to stop him. The ice bird and its rider were hardly any trouble, both he and his minions able to break free from its ice in seconds. Its rider was problematic with his influence over force fields but he was taken care of with a well aimed strike. The first four dragons he could also handle with ease, what with his minions keeping them busy. Then the other earth dragon appeared, using pitiful attacks against him. Things had only gotten tremendously annoying once the sea creature arrived and they all began working together to take him down, despite its inability to follow them on land. Then the lightning bird had arrived and moving on from the ruins of the city became next to impossible with their converged powers. They were able to combine and manipulate their powers in ways he has never seen. Electricity weaved into a net, kept grounded by tall, sharp spikes of ice, lava bombs, electrifying mist and more, all serving to annoy him more than the last. Their attacks held no damage against him and just barely against his wyverns and they knew this. Instead, they focused on keeping him back, preventing him from continuing his reign of destruction. He had spread out his new army to destroy anything they came across in hopes a few of them would follow to try and stop them but they had stubbornly remained.

Echo on the other hand, was certainly not taken care of. He was perfectly fine, landing on his feet unharmed from the fall off of the Falcon’s back. and had chosen to help the injured- no matter how skeptical and rude they were.

“I don’t like him. For all we know, he could be the actual Zane.” Ash huffed then winced as Echo tightened the bandage over the large gash on his arm.

“You’re not the only one but he already stopped the bleeding from your arm so I’m at least grateful to that.” Shade gruffed then looked to where Cyrus was operating in their mock encampment. “How is she?” He asked quietly.

“Not well.” Cyrus says with thin lips, working quickly to reconnect several circuits and weld some valves shut to prevent her liquid spirit levels and oil from leaking out further from where her right arm and most of her right shoulder along with a portion of the side of her face was taken out during a very close encounter with the Overlord himself. “I don’t have the equipment I need to repair her. All I can do now is buy time with temporary fixes but with the tower and all my equipment destroyed with the city…” He clenched his jaw tight, choosing not to finish his statement in favor of doing everything he could.

“I-I-I need to fi-fi-fi-fight.” Pixal got out, her malfunctioning right eye and her exposed circuits sparking as she spoke. “Without all of the Elemental Alliance active, the Overl-l-l-l-l-lord will succeed in his plans to des-des-des-des-”

“That’s enough Pixal.” Cyrus interrupted her in a soft tone, pain clear in his face to see her in this state. “Conserve your energy.” She opened her mouth to protest.

“Please.” He begged, his voice breaking a bit and Pixal looked up at him, her core aching to see her father like this, on the verge of utter devastation.

She closed her mouth for his sake.

“Echo is proof enough that ninja are on their way.” Wu spoke up from the corner of the room, the bandages around his waist soaked with blood.

He had declined to be evacuated with everyone else the moment he had regained some consciousness and they didn’t have time to no cared enough to argue with him.

Shade scoffed as Ash slipped back on his protective gear, wincing as it settled heavily against his arm.

“On their way to do what? Make things worse?” He sneered as Ash shot Wu a glare.

“If they wanted to help, why the hell didn’t they come since that monster first appeared? Why not before countless people died? Why not before the City was quite literally leveled?!” Ash snapped at him, his teeth bared in anger.

“It’s pointless to justify actions to those who won't listen and those who will, if only to criticize further.” Echo says as he headed over to the Sensei who was still bleeding pretty badly.

If he didn’t know Wu wasn’t as human as he seems, he would have been baffled that he hadn’t passed yet. But that wound still needs to stop bleeding. He can only bleed for so long…

“You must rest.” Echo told Wu, ignoring the two as they no doubt spilled unsavory comments from behind him. “Everyone has done all they can. This will all end soon. I can sense it. They’ve awoken Lloyd.” He says and Wu did relax then, knowing his students managed to succeed.

_____

“Enough!” The massive dark dragon roared, patience lost.

He gathered dark energy in his maw before blasting it at the nearest dragon, the glimmering gold of its scales serving to rile the dark beast up even more. Solaris dodged the beam, flying as fast as she could as the Overlord kept his focus on her. As fast as she was, she couldn’t outfly the Overlord’s aim for long. His attack broke through the shield of rock and ice Boulder and the Falcon quickly made and struck her down hard. A blue blur flew in with a rage filled roar then but the Overlord grabbed it with his front paw with ease, taking out the rest of them with a wide blast of his dark fire. He then growled low at the blue dragon blasting him with his blue fire before squeezing tight- A sudden blast of fire had the Overlord roaring, the force of it knocking him over and he hit the ground hard, releasing Heath mid fall. The blue dragon only plummeted, his body in agony from the crushing squeeze that broke several of the dragon’s bones.

“Heath!” Kai yelled, flying over quickly, using his powers to stop his fall and gently set him down.

Kai knelt beside him, his hands hovering over him, feeling his dragon’s pain as if it were his own. And Kai? Kai was mad. Livid if the roaring of the five even brighter flames in their position arched over is head wasn’t enough evidence. But he had to heal him first. He waved his hand and a brightly glowing white flame appeared in his palm. He pressed it into Heath’s back, creating a white pulse through his body that healed as it went. Soon, Heath lifted his head with a low purr and Kai smiled softly, stroking his maw.

“Round the others up and catch up to Garmadon and UD with the wyverns. We’ll take things over from here.” Kai told him and Heath grunted before getting to his feet and taking off, towards where he knew his siblings were gathered, already having the white fire ready in his maw to heal them.

Kai watched him as he flew off then stood, his heated glare on the Overlord as the massive dragon got to his feet again.

“To think you would have learned after the first two times.” He says as he lifted off the ground, floating up to where the others were.

“The ninja…” The Overlord growled venomously, turning his large head to look at them. “This time, you will  _ not  _ stop me.” He growled then opened his maw, gathering both dark and golden energy into his maw.

“I’ve said it before but this time, it will be the last time you hear it.” Lloyd says lightly then grew serious along with the rest of his friends. “This ends now.” He told him, voice clear and unwavering.

The Overlord roared with his blast of the massive orb of dark and light energy they would have no chance against escaping. He could feel that they were stronger than they were in their last encounter but he was even stronger- or so he thought. Lloyd sliced through his attack with his bare hand, not even needing to summon his weapon. The massive orb was split down the middle, flying off on either side of the group before exploding in the air, the force of the explosions having even the Overlord himself closing his wings to not be swept away. A show of power like that would have any sane villain running for the hills but not the Overlord. The fact that they were untouched by one of his most powerful attacks yet only served to make him even angrier. He launched himself at them with a deafening roar, dark energy building in his maw again with large, razor sharp claws aimed at them. At the last second, the team split out of his way, Kai summoning his swords that blazed with the fire of his rage along the way. He flew in the opposite direction of the Overlord with them, leaving dual trails of bright red fire in the sky then stopped to a hover, his back still towards the dark dragon. For a brief moment, nothing happened. But then, the Overlord gave a shrill roar of agony as he began to fall, his now detached wings falling after him. The rest of the Elemental Alliance who were charged in monitoring once the dragons and creatures showed up watched as this all happened, torn between awe and terror at their power. The Alliance couldn’t so much as scratch the scales of the Overlord, far worse his dragonlings. Not even their pets could inflict damage but they were battling the Overlord as if it were child's play.

“Are you guys seeing this?” Chamille asked from where she was broadcasting to the rest of the Alliance; Shade and Ash who were on their way back and Bolobo, Gravis and Tox at the refugee camp in Ignacia and Pixal and Cyrus in the makeshift base on the other end of where the city once stood.

“Incredible…” Cyrus whispered, seeing everything unfold on the holo-screen they set up.

Pixal could see it directly from a small screen in the corner of her static filled vision. So they’ve gotten even stronger, haven’t they?

“Sensei!” Wu opened his eyes to see his students rushing in trailing behind, his eyes widening at their attire, more so the white flame Jake held in arms.

“Ninja…” He whispered as they rushed over.

“Here!” Jake says, pressing it into his Sensei’s side before he could react.

Wu gasped softly at the warmth that spread out from where the flame had entered his body, the pain fading with it.

“Did it work?” Sally asked as Echo passed them by then undid his bandages.

“It did.” He smiled, and they looked at his unmarked skin in awe.

“I’m glad you have all returned safely. I see the first ninja aren’t the only ones to have undergone change.” He says lightly and they grinned widely at him.

Another loud roar had them looking around at the screen to see the Overlord there, his form becoming more terrifying, more like shadows and less like dragon.

“You will not stop me!” He roared at them, dark matter dripping from his warped maw as he stood on two legs.

“Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Jay says, pulling out his nunchucks then zapping him back when he came to swing at them. “Let’s put an end to this, yeah? I wanna visit my parents. I haven’t seen them in years.” He says and they nodded.

“I’ll get them out of the way.” Cole says, looking to where the Elemental Alliance were, at a ‘safe distance’.

With that, he flew over to where they were, unphased when they immediately raised their weapons at him.

“You need to get back to your base. Anywhere within the city limits is dangerous.” He told them and they looked skeptical but Cole didn’t have time for that.

He sought out the exact location of their base then in a surge of power, they had vanished, reappearing at their base, even Ash and Shade to.

“What the fuck just happened?” Ash asked, looking around for the mech he was just in.

Zane pulled an arrow back in his bow then fired, the bow lading just between the overlord,s feet, sending ice as hard as diamonds quickly climbing up his legs, effectively preventing him moving, despite his ominous shadow form.

“No!” He roared then blasted them with dark matter but Nya used a shield of water to catch and absorb it before making it vanish.

He followed immediately with a blast of dark energy Cole immediately shot back at him with a swing of his hammer, a loud booming sound akin to thunder echoing from the impact.

“He sure is getting desperate.” Kai commented as he flew into position.

“Because he knows he’s done for.” Cole says with a smirk, getting into position too.

“I won’t miss his ugly mug, that’s for sure.” Nya huffed, already in place.

“Indeed. This was long overdue.” Zane comments.

“Let’s wrap this up before I go deaf.” Jay says, grimacing at the Overlord’s hideous roars.

“Lets.” Lloyd says, eyes glowing gold.

______

“Amazing…” Nobu, head scribe says from the chamber that held the 6 forbidden scrolls, watching as they began to bleed gold again.

He had only came to bring six more that were like them in their inability to write on them but unlike them in their lack of glowing power. The new ninja were perfect to continue where they had left off with the ninja but as each of them passed the trials the former ninja had set out for them, they lost the ability to write on their scrolls. They attempted to prevent that from happening with Brad as a test, pushing his fears forward to inhibit him but that had failed as expected. It proved nothing they do can go against the will of the former ninja. And now… The six scrolls he carried fell from his hands, watching as the scrolls began to glow blindingly bright before they all simultaneously shattered like glass. And by all of them, he meant all of them. The six scrolls and all of the other scrolls throughout the Cloud Kingdom itself if the alarmed cries that echoed into the room wasn’t enough evidence.

Nobu looked at the fragments as they faded away. So it’s come through, this silent fear they’ve had. They can no longer influence Ninjago or its people, have been excommunicated from the realm. Now what will they do?

Back in Ninjago, the phenomenon, the process of eradicating the Overlord once and for all was visible all across Ninjago, the ancient symbol of balance rotating slowly over Ninjago’s skies, its rotation only growing faster as the six gods altered the very foundations of Ninjago. In the middle of their divine circle, trapped in a bright pillar of light, the Overlord roared, spat and hissed, even as his form began to flicker and shrink. This was unlike when he was killed before. No. It was as if he was being pulled apart into a million billion pieces and scattered across the universe, fading into the oblivion of non-existence. His roars weakened as the small figure of a man slouched onto his hands and knees, thought and coherence slipping through his fingers like water as he evaporated into black mist. With the last of his strength, he opened his mouth to curse the ninja but it never came, his body succumbing to the black mist and vanishing forever.

The pillar of light compressed then before exploding outwards with a thunderous boom, sending debris and earth flying through the air, the force of the blast chasing the dark clouds away from the sky as the shockwave rippled all across Ninjago, letting it be known that an ancient foe was defeated, and for good this time. The six gods looked across at each other, a job well accomplished hanging in the air among them.

“We did it!” They all yelled at the same time, despite knowing they wouldn’t have failed.

They laughed, coming together for a group hug, relishing in their success.

“That was epic!” Jay beamed, electricity arcing along his shawl as his eyes glowed and sparked with his excitement. “Lloyd just totally went like woosh with his hand and slicked that dark orb like nothing! Then Kai pulled a totally samurai move like shing! Fwap! And- and-” His excitement died once Lloyd began to frown.

“Lloyd… What’s wrong?” Zane asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m happy we won. Really I am. It’s just… Yet again, a lot of people have died… New Ninjago City is now No Ninjago City.” He says as he looked around at the wastelands were a once magnificent city was hours before.

“It is sad that so many have died during this. They won’t be forgotten. But know that we have done all we could.” Cole told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Come on. We’ve altered the balance itself to prevent something like this from happening again. There will always be crime and death, that much is unavoidable, but for even that, we have the new ninja to keep the peace. The Elemental Alliance too. Ninjago will recover like it always does and it will be stronger for it.” He told him as Lloyd looked up at him with wide green eyes.

“And yeah, we’re going to be blamed for this whole mess and that sucks. But you know what? We still have each other, don’t we?” Kai says as a consolation and Lloyd gave a watery smile.

“Yeah… We do.” He whispered, accepting the hug Kai gave him.

“See? Everything will turn out fine as long as we have each other.” Nya told them with an optimistic smile. “Now let's get going. We’ve gotta work our magic on someone.” She says and they nodded before vanishing.

Back at the Elemental Alliance’s base, Wu walked outside in awe as Echo’s shield fell, his amazement not coming from the rubble of the city built up before the base by the blast. No. It was the shift in the balance he felt. That wasn’t quite right. The balance was now intact as it should be, but different. He couldn’t quite tell how but he could tell things will be quite different for Ninjago, perhaps for all 14 realms from now on. A roar broke the silence, putting both the ninja and the Alliance on edge as loud wing beats grew closer and closer. Only Wu and the new ninja relaxed however once the Ultra Dragon came into view along with the gods’ other companions. They landed with a heavy thud, a smile lighting Wu’s face at the sight of his brother he hasn’t seen in over seven years on the Ultra Dragon’s back.

“Brother.” He says as he walked forward, Garmadon sliding off the Ultra Dragon’s back.

“Brother.” Garmadon returned a small smile on his face, meeting his brother half way for a warm hug.

“Aww.” They all looked up at the familiar voice, surprised to see the gods there, greeting their companions.

All but Nya that is.

“How sweet.” Jay continued, resting his cheek against Lili’s head.

“Are we still doing this?” Cole asked with a tired sigh once they had weapons pointed in their direction.

“You bastar-”

Zane walked by them instead to where Echo stood by the entrance, stepping aside so he could enter.

“Where the hell-”

“He’s going to help Pixal.” Lloyd told Shade before he could finish his sentence.

Said shadow elemental glared at Lloyd- only for his eyes to widen at the intensity in those glowing green eyes. He found himself looking away, heart beating in his throat. What the actual fuck was this all of a sudden? Zane entered the tent silently, seeing Cyrus clinging to Pixal’s hand as her now only working eye flickered in and out, clearly at her last leg.

“Can you help her?” Cyrus asked him without turning around, the powerful, cool presence impossible to not notice.

“I can.” Zane confirmed, walking up to his side. “I’ll reverse the time on her physical body to before she took damage. Her memories will still be intact.” He told Cyrus who was already on board the moment he confirmed he could help.

He would do anything to keep his Pixal alive and here with him.

“Don’t.” He looked a Pixal once she spoke, her voice more static than an actual voice.

“Your systems are failing rapidly. You will die within 6o seconds. Do not refuse my help if it is because of any prejudice against me. I will recover your body without any need of payment or blackmail.” He told her hand glowing amber.

Pixal wasn’t sure she believed him but she also didn’t want to leave her father behind in a world where they still existed, could still wipe out Ninjago without a thought. She didn’t stop him. A cold feeling enveloped her body before she could feel the pain that had gone numb coming back in full force. It hurt. It was agonizing. She thought for sure that he was doing the opposite of what he promised but then it all suddenly stopped altogether. She opened her eyes she didn't realize she closed, immediately running diagnostics on her body as Zane lowered his hand then turned away.

“Pixal…” Cyrus says in awe, damning his wheelchair for preventing him from getting closer to his daughter.

She sat up then, slowly working through her right hand.

“All systems running. No mechanical failure. No systematic failure.” She reported then turned to her father, her heart clenching to find his eyes overflowing with tears.

She didn’t even think, just got up off the bed and picked her father right up out of his chair so she could hug him tight, burying her face into his shoulder as he held onto her just as tight.

“I thought I lost you… For good this time…” He told her quietly, his voice wavering and Pixal smiled a soft, sad smile.

“That won’t ever happen… Father.” She told him quietly then closed her eyes, a happier smile tugging her lips a bit wider. “It appears that you will be stuck with me for the foreseeable and unforeseeable future.” She says lightly and Cyrus gave a watery chuckle, Pixal pulling him back enough so he had the room to cup her cheeks.

“That’s a deduction I’m perfectly happy with.” He told her and she smiled wider, hugging him close again.

She still didn’t trust any of the original ninja for as far as she could throw them but…

‘Thank you, Zane.’ She willed the thought to reach him and the ice god only smiled once it did, stroking the Falcon’s side as Echo talked with him about Sensei Wu’s make up.

“I should drop by my parents’ to let them know I’m awake.” Jay says as he climbed aboard Lili who raised up on her feet.

It hit all the new ninja then and they looked at him with mixed expressions of trepidation and remorse.

“H-hey Jay…” Nelson says sheepishly as he stepped forward, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah. What’s up?” He answered, looking down at the purple nin.

“Uh…” Jeez, how to break this to him easily. “About your parents… Before we started this mission to awaken you guys, we stopped by the um, Junkyard to get the Bounty and well…” Nelson took a breath.

“... We found out your parents… Passed 5 years ago…” He told the lightning nin quietly and the Alliance took a collective step back at the news just given to the lightning god.

Were these kids  _ insane?!  _ There was a moment of tense silence before Jay smiled softly.

“I know.” He told Nelson and the group of ninja looked shocked. “I felt it when they did, even though I was asleep. But that doesn’t mean I can’t visit them still. I just have to make a short trip to the Departed Realm is all.” He spoke lightly they all looked at him in shock.

“Speaking of the Bounty.” Lloyd spoke up and a large shadow suddenly appeared, making them all look up in shock at the bottom of the ship that appeared out of nowhere, thrusters on idle as it just floated there. “It’s time we take our leave. We’re not exactly liked around these parts.” He says as he floated onto the Ultra Dragon’s back.

“There’s some people sea bound Olivia is bringing to shore. I’ll meet her there then catch up.” Nya says as they mounted their companions, Echo sliding on behind Zane with Tai-D between them.

“I’ll be there soon.” Garmadon told Lloyd who saw it coming and nodded.

It’s been a long time after all. Of course he’d like to catch up with his brother.

“Will we see you again?” Wu asked the six gods before him and they shared a look before grinning at the Sensei.

“You couldn’t keep us away if you tried.” Cole told him with a smirk and Wu’s heart warmed at that.

With that, the group took air, Nya vanishing to the coast, Jay flying away with Lili, only to speed up suddenly and vanish, leaving nothing but lightning arching briefly in the sky. Everyone else flew off in separate directions, leaving the Alliance and the ninja behind.

“What happens now?” Jake asked their Sensei who still had his eyes cast skybound.

“We do as Ninjago does best. Heal and grow stronger.” Wu told them lightly.

“But couldn’t they just fix the city? They’re gods now, right? What about the people who died?!” Griffin yelled after being speechless throughout the whole thing.

“Why would anyone ever want to rebuild the city here again?” Cyrus countered as Pixal wheeled him out and they gasped at the sight of her repaired self. “This area the city was built on has been nothing but trouble since the start. We will rebuild and we will grow stronger… Just not here. Never here again.” He told them.

“And as for the people who died, we will ensure they are never forgotten.” Pixal told them.

“We have a lot of work to do for the foreseeable future, starting with a new location for New, New Ninjago City.” Cyrus told them and Gene made a face at the name.

“And this time, we’ll be there to more than occasionally take care of a petty crime.” Antonia says with a smirk.

“Yeah.” Nelson says as he looked down at his hands then grinned.

They’ll do their part and they’ll do it right. After all, destiny was in his hands.

________________

After what was dubbed the Day of Darkness, word spread of what happened there in the ruins of Old Ninjago City, of the former ninja turned gods, there were mixed reactions. Most were happy that the situation was over and done with while even more had much more negativity in mind.

‘Why didn’t they clean up the ruins of the old city?’

‘Why didn’t they build them the new city? After all, it was their fault the old was destroyed.’

‘If they had destroyed the Overlord properly the first two times…’

‘They should have been there sooner. So many people wouldn’t have died.’

‘If they’re so powerful, why did it take them that long to destroy the Overlord again?’

It drove the new team of ninja up the wall sometimes. Were they really like that too? They received their criticism as well, after they discovered their golden weapons gifted to them by the gods were a means of honing and using their elemental powers, even without unlocking their true potentials as yet. Nelson found out the true extent of his powers while patrolling the city being built from the ground up much further south where the original was located. He was on a bike Gene had made for him, driving on the fresh asphalt road before where the new Borg Tower was being erected- only, shorter and thicker. A purple fog had enveloped the edges of his vision and he watched as a large sewer pipe was being lowered into the ground where as another close by was being taken out of the way.

The guy in charge of the project was yelling at the man hauling the second pipe away, to hurry and he had swung the crane quickly to meet his demands- only for the pipe to hit the first pipe, the force of which sent the first crane toppling over and harming several of the workers there.

He gasped as the fog disappeared from his vision, looking ahead to see the very same group ahead, the second pipe being fastened to the second crane. He had known right away that this was his powers. Without hesitation, he drove right up to the site, sliding off his bike and walking over to the manager who was less than pleased to see him interrupting his work. He had talked with him, watching through the corner of his eyes as the man in the second crane prepared to lift the second pipe but he could see it wasn’t going anywhere. The manager opened his mouth to yell at him to go faster but then Nelson placed his hand on his shoulder before lightly suggesting he give the guy a break. He didn’t miss the brief purple flash in the manager’s eyes before he sighed and agreed, stating that it’s been a long day and ultimately preventing the accident from ever happening.

Lloyd hadn’t been kidding when he had told him his powers were great. In the wrong hands, it could turn out very badly. But they weren’t in the wrong hands and he was doing the right things with them. His mom, who had also escaped the city, was proud of him every step of the way and he was grateful. Now almost a year later, the city was well on its way to completion and they were well on their way to completely mastering their powers. It took them a couple months but they all managed to unlock their true potential with Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon’s help. He insists that he isn’t a Sensei anymore, even when training them on how to fight beings that have an advantage over them strength, power and speed wise by using himself as practice. Sure Sensei G. Whatever floats your boat.

“Hey Sensei.” Brad says during their break, walking over to Wu who was, unsurprisingly, drinking a cup of tea as he observed them. “Now that we pretty much have our powers under control and all, can we learn how to summon our elemental dragons?” He asked, using the moisture in the air to gather into water which he shaped out to be a dragon.

“That door will be unlocked when the key is ready to be found.” Wu says lightly and Brad deflated as the others laughed at him good naturedly.

“Cryptic as always, Sensei.” They all looked towards the emblem in the ground with all of their new symbols of their elements, as they had given the ninja their dragon symbols.

“It is good to see you all.” Wu says lightly to the group.

“Good to be here!” Jay chirped, before floating over to where Gene was excitedly waving him over, no doubt having something new to create that he wanted to show off.

“It appears you have all been busy.” Zane pointed out, noting their new gi,

“You know it! A ninja’s job never really stops after all.” Nelson says with a proud grin.

“I think he enjoys being a ninja a little too much.” Sally says dryly.

“He’s up before even Sensei Wu for Sunrise Exercise.” Brad agrees.

“We’ve made a monster.” Lloyd says with a deadpan look and Cole, Kai and Zane were quick to agree.

“It was only once!” Nelson sputtered in his defense.

“Yeah, because you spend the rest of the times laying in bed until Sensei comes to wake us up.” Gene called out and Nelson gave him a betrayed look for outing him as he was now laughed at.

“Well there’s nothing wrong with being a little eager but sleep is important too bud.” Kai says, ruffling Nelson’s hair and the ninja grumbled, trying to readjust it.

“Have you all decided what you will do from now on?” Garmadon asked the six gods as he headed to his brother’s side, stealing his tea then putting several sugar cubes in after a sip.

“We do what we have always been doing.” Nya shrugged.

“We go where the wind takes us.” Jay says with a grin and they rolled their eyes at his over usage of element related puns.

“But we will always be watching over Ninjago. While the balance is now set to an easier and more reliable tether of day and night, we know this doesn’t erase the evil foes to come, just the Overlord. There will be enemies that you can’t hope to defeat but we will take them on and down.” Lloyd says determinedly.

“It’s like they say.” Kai says with a smirk. “Once a ninja, always a ninja.” 

_________

** Bonus Ending: **

> “There’s an odd charge in the air again.” Zane says as the group stepped aside to discuss it, their successors training once more.
> 
> “It;s the same one that’s been following us around throughout our battle against the Overlord.” Nya noticed.
> 
> “But much closer and stronger.” Cole says, looking around.
> 
> “Here.” Lloyd says, turning around just in time to see a magenta portal open, someone popping their head through.
> 
> “Oh great. You’re all here. The name’s Vortica and you could probably tell I've been keeping an eye on you.” The pink haired girl spoke and the group looked at each other, able to tell she wasn’t of their world, their dimension. “I need your help with something real quick if you don’t mind. You can all tell, it’d nothing evil or with any wrong intentions behind it but it is pretty important.” She told them and she was right, they couldn’t sense a lie in what she said or any bad intentions.
> 
> The group looked at each other.
> 
> “Why not? We’ve never visited another dimension before and if a dimensional supervisor says it’s fine, I say go for it.” Jay shrugged, despite being excited to check it out.
> 
> “Then I guess that’s that.” Kai shrugged before one by one, they walked through the portal.
> 
> _________

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for the CI Ninja's story arch. They'll still pop up in Move On Dragons soon as I'm gonna focus a lot more on that series for this year, Hopefully I can finish that one up by February the latest. After wards, I plan on making small ficlets about both sets of ninja so yay! Thanks for reading!


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